Williams claims to have spent 30 years as a racist activist, and reportedly was personally responsible for providing security services to William Pierce. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, in 1993, Williams targeted children for recruitment to the National Alliance, authoring and distributing a racist comic book called "The Saga of ... WHITE WILL" which featured a violent attack by the hero against a Jewish youngster (read here). In 1998, Williams organized what he advertised as a "European Culture Festival" in Cleveland, featuring Irish and Slavic folk music and dancers. Attendees found themselves at a "white power" rally with speeches by William Pierce, Tom Metzger, founder of White Aryan Resistence ("WAR") and other racist leaders (read here). In December 2000, he spoke to a younger racist audience at a concert of racist rock bands organized by the National Alliance and Erich Gliebe's Resistance Records in California. (read here and here) [Gliebe, Pierce's personally chosen successor to lead the National Alliance, specializes in the recruitment of young people. He is perhaps the world's leading promoter of racist rock music and computer games, and is one of the chief promoters of the racist girl group Prussian Blue. (read here)] In March, 2001, Williams participated in a racist anti-immigration rally on the steps of the Hall County, Ga. courthouse, along with his friend and National Alliance Party associate, Chester Doles, listed variously as former Grand Dragon and Former Imperial Wizard of the KKK (read here and here and here) . In July, 2001, Williams participated in a violent rally at the German embassy in Washington, D.C. in support of German neo-Nazis (read here).

Williams now spends less time recruiting young people to be Nazis via comic books and rock music, and more time recruiting them to support Ron Paul via several meetup groups in Tennessee (read here), although he may be using these meetups to do both. He also posts anti-Semitic messages on Ron Paul message boards (read here), sometimes eliciting requests that he keep his neo-Nazi views quiet while continuing to organize for Paul, or in one case a joke concerning remaining "non-interventionist" with respect to William's ravings (read here). "White Will" Williams has also been actively campaigning for Ron Paul via racist websites as noted here, on the Huffington Post. (That piece, titled "To His Dismay, Ron Paul Becoming Magnet For White Supremacists", was a whitewash of the racist connections of the Paul campaign, ignoring Williams' role as an internet organizer for Paul.)

Getting his name out there and showing support is important in any campaign. Everyone should do their part, getting those yard signs like Glenn suggested is one small way to help. I've got a Ron Paul for Pres. sign for the world to see at the base of my flag pole, the pole has a 4x6 Confederate flag atop it. Ron Paul bumper stickers on our cars and I wear my Ron Paul t-shirt anytime we go out to places with a lot of folks. A good number of my neighbors who know about my politics have asked me about Paul and have said they'd vote for him in the primary know that they know he's a good one.

Directly above this post was one authored by a user calling himself "BurnJewBurn". This user's slogan, appearing on everything he posts, reads "nothing says lovin' like a jew in the oven".

For those with the stomach to read more of that sort of material, here, with my warning, is the "Ron Paul Internet Army" forum of a neo-Nazi website to which Doggett posts: [LINK TO HATE-GROUP WEBSITE. CAUTION.]

Racist podcaster Hal Turner has recently taken a break from issuing death threats to politicians in order to endorse Ron Paul. And then there's David Duke himself, who's devoted webpage after webpage to material supportive of the Paul campaign, without formally endorsing Paul. You could say that's soft money from the hard right.

Maybe the racists' support for Paul has something to do with his advocacy of states' rights, which he frequently mischaracterizes as individual rights. He apparently appeals to a constituency which has forgotten the horror of what states' rights meant to non-white individuals in many states. As should be clear by now, Paul also appeals to some who DO remember and support a return to segregation and the other forms of racial oppression justified in the name of states' rights.

Let's remember that Rep. Paul voted against renewing the Voting Rights Act. He had the nerve to state in a speech to Congress that relations between the races have improved despite, not because of, civil rights laws. (read here) He also made the following statement in a speech he gave to Congress in opposition of a bill to commemorate the 1964 Civil Rights Act:

"(T)he forced integration dictated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 increased racial tensions while diminishing individual liberty...The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the federal government unprecedented power over the hiring, employee relations, and customer service practices of every business in the country. The result was a massive violation of the rights of private property and contract, which are the bedrocks of free society. The federal government has no legitimate authority to infringe on the rights of private property owners to use their property as they please and to form (or not form) contracts with terms mutually agreeable to all parties."

In other words, Paul values the right to discriminate more than the right not be discriminated against. What a sorry state of affairs that this disgraceful conduct can still occur in our Congress over forty years after the first major civil rights legislation passed. This outrage is compounded when Rep. Paul portrays himself as a champion of the Constitution, and this message is promoted by the ignorant and ignored by the indifferent.

So while I blame the racists and neo-Nazis for being who they are, I am more concerned about those who should know the history of civil rights but still allow Paul to spread his deceptions. He does not belong among the top candidates in a major party and his candidacy gives a boost to an otherwise declining racist movement in this country.

UPDATE (4/2/2010): Going back through this piece, I've discovered that the Ron Paul campaign has deleted several of the Meetup webpages linked to here, and made others private and accessible only with permission of the campaign. As time permits, I will search for archived versions of these webpages and replace the links to the originals with links to the archived versions. Thanks for your patience..

Don Black endorsed Bush in 2004. Bush did not "renounce" him. Does that make Bush a neo-nazi? By your logic, it does.

This really is the worst you can find on Ron Paul? Then I know he's going to win -- and I suspect you do, too. After all, Paul has the highest level of African-American support of any Republican candidate:

I'm not saying anything to him, but I think he's totally wrong even if he did find a few nutcases. Please respond politely if you choose to comment. Try to stick to facts instead of name-calling, even though this IS the internet. ;)JMR"

If you are commenting in response to that request by the Paul campaign, why do you say nothing to rebut what I wrote about Will Williams, one of the leaders of the American neo-Nazi movement actually working as an internet organizer for Rep. Paul's campaign? Anonymous #2, you have nothing to say on that subject except it's not so bad and it makes you more certain he'll win? That's not really much of a rebuttal.

What do you "Ron Paul Reader" readers think about the facts I uncovered? If I thought that a candidate I was supporting was also attracting the support of dangerous extremists and that they were actively participating in the campaign, I would be very concerned. If I then found ideological and/or policy commonalities of the sort I found between Paul and his far-right supporters, and a past history of similar associations, I would be more concerned still.

With respect to Stormfront's Don Black supporting Bush in 2004, he did in 2000 as well, and participated in the demonstrations opposing a recount of the Florida vote (see http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0046,ladd2,19934,6.html). I don't know that the Bush campaign was aware of Black's support or participation in Bush rallies, but if they were, they should have disavowed him. They really didn't need to rely on neo-Nazi support, so had nothing to lose by alienating that small group of voters. (Maybe Black chose Bush in spite of their ideological differences. He was the greater of two evils, so to speak.)

Rep. Paul, however, does depend on that extreme right wing block for a larger share of his support. Even so, he too should disavow their support and risk losing some votes. Why does he allow their participation in his internet-based groups? Cleaning house would really be the only appropriate response for his campaign to make under the circumstances. Simply requesting that people post distracting comments to a blog isn't an adequate response. They need to clean up their act.

Like I've commented on other blogs that attempt to construe Ron Paul as a neo-nazi rascist: you are hopeless trapped in this idea. This is meaningless muckraking and I'm on a mission to make you stop it.

Stop invoking the murderers of my aunts and uncles to defame the character of a honorable statesman. It hints to an underlying psychosis from realizing your worldview is backward. Get out of your "us versus them" mentality and realize it's just us everywhere.

This is a well written article - kudos. A little further background on Will Williams - he was also close to Ben Klassen, founder of the Church of the Creator which was later headed by Matt Hale. You may recall that Hale was sentenced to 40 years for soliciting the murder of Federal Judge Joan Lefkow.

According to Klassen, Williams physically abused his wife while living on Klassen's compound.

The Council of Conservative Citizens has been declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and openly displays their racism and anti-Semitism on their website and on their radio show "Political Cesspool." Ron Paul has been interviewed on that show and is heavily supported by CoCC members.

One of the truly disturbing aspects of all of this for me is that Ron Paul knows who these people are and that they are supporting him - yet fails to renounce them.

"If you are commenting in response to that request by the Paul campaign,"

I'm not btw, I just happened to come across this searching technorati. also dailypaul.com is an independent website, not part of the official campaign.

also regarding William's meetup group, please be aware that anyone can set up one of these. I organize one myself, and I'm a pretty leftwing anarchist. I'm not sure the campaign could delete groups if they wanted to. usually what happens is people vote with their feet. supporters who don't like the management of a group leave and start a new one etc. I notice that William's group only has a couple dozen members, and very little activity.

having been involved the RP movement the last few months I notice that everyone brings their own hobby horses to the movement. any given meeting I hold could be monopolized with talk of things as disparate as financial cryptography or holistic health. the insanity of drug laws or the collapse of the monetary system.

of course some people come to the movement because they have quaint notions like Ron Paul 'supports the Constitution', but most people have some particular beef with the (federal) government.

politics has always been about coalition building. and if there is going to be such a thing as libertarian politics, it will be no different. the Paul campaign attracts black power activists as much as it does white supremacists, christian fundamentalists as much as hard core atheists.

the entire modern government edifice was built from myriad coalitions of political rent-seekers through the party system. its dismantlement will require myraid coalitions too, but not of rent-seekers, but of people who want the state off their asses for whatever reason.

I never knowingly invoked the deaths of your family, so I'm not sure what your point is. How have I offended you by pointing out neo-Nazi support for Ron Paul? Feel free to clarify.

Nikki:

THANKS! I've been reading about Williams' history with the so-called "Creativity movement", Council of Conservative Citizens (formerly the White Citizens' Council), as well as the National Socialist White People's Party. I just posted about Williams' plan to "game" Youtube to move a Paul video up in the recommended ratings.

Kyle:

You are of the "Ron Paul is the modern equivalent of Thomas Jefferson" school of thought. I am of the "Ron Paul is a loony John Birch Society type" school of thought. I'll let the reader be the judge which of us has the more accurate view of him.

Kyle said..."consider the RP campaign as an early taste of this New Politics."

Consider this...the road is fixing to get mighty rocky for Mr. Paul and this "New Politic" idea.

While you are accurate in that anyone can set up a meet-up, and people can vote with their feet - it is equally true that a candidate for the office of Presidency of the United States of America owes his public and answer to the many questions that are being asked and, at the very least, a refudiation of the racist right. His tacit acceptance is simply unacceptable.

Ron Paul should take support from any American. Ron Paul is the only candidate whose policies, principles and ideals would allow Americans to live in freedom, cooperation and peaceful coexistence. He is the only candidate who will not be used to by some Americans to rule, control and rob other Americans. Ron Paul is the only candidate who understands that freedom is the solution to the human condition. This is a whole new ball game. This is not one group against another.

Thanks for your comment. When a candidate accepts the support of extremists, as Rep. Paul has, he welcomes them into his campaign. It signals his acceptance of at least some of their views. Ron Paul needs to send a strong message that racists are not welcome in his campaign. (Let me extend this comment to also include extremist militia types, secessionists, and his fellow radical states rights advocates.) He may be reluctant to do so because he depends upon people with affinities to the extremists for a significant share of his support. He also has affinities for these views himself, as I and others have demonstrated. At the very least, he is totally unconcerned with the effect that the elimination of federal civil rights laws would have upon minorities. That's a pretty important gap in his compassion.

It must be comforting for you to have absolute faith in your candidate. I prefer to have a realistic combination of doubts and faith about politicians, to support them with an awareness of their shortcomings. That might be something for you to consider as well.

As do I, and I'm black (brought up in socialist Sweden). So what if Neo-Nazis support Ron Paul, that has nothing to do with Ron Paul as a person.

This article is an all too obvious attempt, well Wiki-referenced and all, to cast dirt on Paul for whatever reason.

I realize Paul's freedom message is hard to understand for "global socialists" (in where I include social "conservatives") and others who are used to big governments, big corporations, big spending and big wars -- but I urge you, think again about what freedom really is.

One thing is evident, this country have never been less free than now, under the false conservatives that are now running it. It's not strange that the current Trotsky-like neo-cons get along so well with China.

This is an interesting, albeit somewhat narrow critique and a matter that the Ron Paul camp may wish to come to terms with. I am a Ron Paul supporter yet this point should be of concern to him or other new political and civil rights movements. Ironically my point reminds me of one of Malcolm X’s speeches (believe it can be read in the book “Malcolm X Speaks”) where he (Malcolm) raises his concern that the moderates would dilute the message of the more radical proponents of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The point being a movement could be destroyed from within by diluting or obfuscating its message or its messenger.

There is one view that bad men or fringe groups working or donating on something positive like Ron Paul campaigning keeps them busy from working or donating on some very bad things that they otherwise would be doing in there spare time. It appears this has been the general position of Ron Paul at this point.

At the same time there is the obvious treat when one opens up the floodgates and invites anybody to support your campaign in your own way, similar to the Ron Paul. The downside is that it may be interpreted as a message to the grass roots that allows some bad seeds to infiltrate and poison or dilute the message.

They attempt to use this platform for their own fringe ideas or otherwise to destroy the message. Clearly separate from traditional Nazi and fascist ideologies is the prevailing message of Ron Paul anti interventionist, civil liberty, and protection of privacy. The Nazi’s know that the great majority of Americans hate them and they can use there toxic position to “poison the well”.

The libertarianism world view on states and individual rights seem to support Ron Paul’s views on federal civil rights laws, that most academics or historians could consider an argument about the effectiveness of these laws. I personally believe they did some good as well as some bad for the civil rights movement.

States rights however have been hurt be the legal precedents of these movements that is why, for example someone can be federally prosecuted for medical marijuana in a state that makes it legal under state law. The main concern about State rights is the general concern of tyranny of the majority which may or may not be applicable at all points in history. The flip side the threat of a central government that is more removed even apathetic of any concern people.

I am sure that with each candidate you will find a small group of radicals and nutcases that support them especially with grassroots phenomena like Ron Paul where there are not so many gatekeepers.

Thus I appreciate the information and do think it is relevant. That being said I don't think that the Nazi's are above infiltrating a positive message of liberty and trying to destroy it the power of their own negative association. And finally that is such a small

However, if I was Ron Paul I would keep their money and use it for good maybe even donate some of it but otherwise publicly disavow them so that they do not dilute or poison his powerful message. Although the tone is more similar to an indictment, nevertheless, thanks for raising the issue and allowing all sides to chime in.

White people have a right to freely associate, to exercise our free speech, to vote for and try to elect one politican rather than another. Just like your Jewish people. Will you join me in recognizing the rights of white folks to work in concerted lawful action just like the Jewish people?

Adam Holland says, "When a candidate accepts the support of extremists ... he welcomes them into his campaign. It signals his acceptance of at least some of their views. Ron Paul needs to send a strong message that racists are not welcome in his campaign."

That's a good point, and that's why Paul spokesman Jesse Benton went out of his way to say that the campaign was unaware of Williams' views and that "Congressman Paul wants nothing to do with detestable people like that". [See: http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/031208/D8VC5OM80.shtml ]

I don't know why a racist like Williams would attach himself to Ron Paul. Maybe its just because of ignorance -- racists often aren't the smartest people.

Maybe Williams wasn't aware that Ron Paul has repetedly praised Martin Luther King as a "hero" and a "champion of liberty". Just like you weren't aware that Paul's campaign already said it wanted nothing to do with Williams.

Let me correct your comment with respect to a few issues. Starting from your last point, the Paul campaign approved Will Williams to be on their slate of delegate candidates in the Tennessee primary. They then let him run IN SPITE OF ALREADY HAVING PREVENTED HIM ACCESS TO THEIR INTERNET FORUM FOR RACIST REMARKS. This happened AFTER his identity had been revealed.

TO THIS DAY, WILLIAMS IS STILL LISTED AS COORDINATOR OF THE RON PAUL CAMPAIGN IN JOHNSON COUNTY, TN! RON PAUL DOESN'T CARE ENOUGH TO REMOVE HIM FROM THIS POSITION IN HIS CAMPAIGN. The link is too long for one line in this comment, so cut and paste the following two lines together and copy them to the address bar of your browser: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/tennessee/county-coordinators/

Ron Paul's statement that he considers Martin Luther King a hero takes the prize for hypocrisy. Throughout his career in politics, Paul has opposed all the civil rights legislation to which King devoted his life. Paul has maintained associations with a number of extreme right wing groups advocating radical states rights and secessionist ideologies. He has subscribed to and published his writing in their journals. Paul has published under his own name virulently racist commentaries -- first claiming them as own, then, several years later claiming they were written by someone else whose identity he doesn't know. He has also promoted conspiracy theories regarding a shadowy cabal of international bankers controlling the nation, and has advocated nativist, anti-immigrant policies.

mean while you say nothing about a crooked communist and the idiots in the democratic party supporting a goon like this, then you are silent on the starving rich as well, How about the poor merril lynch guys, I would say if they need help have then go down to social services and fill out a form listing all their assets, and bring with then a list of at least 3 jobs they applied for this week. Time for these guys to learn something about responsibility ! watch it hack reporters are next !